health care costs

Here’s a good piece on Slate, talking about health care costs. I’m down with most of what the piece lays out. But, I’m not about demonizing capitalism.

“American health care costs a lot because the prices Americans pay for health care services are very high. And hospitals charge those high prices for the same reason any other business would—because they can”.

Yep, I agree. But costs are also high because of waste (expensive tests done needlessly), fraud, over billing, and the fact that we’re all paying the price for our neighbor’s poor health.

Comments

Hey,
Were going to see a surge in healthcare cuts. Cuts are prematurely coming down the pipeline in preparation of Obama care while talk of cuts to Medicare increase and single payer insuranc increases. I agree about waste, and unregulated charging for the smallest things like using rubber gloves and toothpaste. Most insurance companies have reported bot checking charges for bills of 100,000 and under. Adds up quickly. Here in Ca the senate passed a bill to allow nurse practioners to practice without the oversight of physicians. We can see where patient care is going and also less hospital workers to help with the job of good patient care. I can go on and on…